Sword Art Online: The Red Baron - Book 1: The Untold Hero
by Altinator
Summary: All of us know who Kirito is. He's the famous Black Swordsman who saved SAO, ALO, and GGO. From the shadow of Kirito's fame, another hero rises up to tell his story of true adventure. A hero who risked his life, reputation, and family for a game that he had helped develop. Come with me on a journey through the eyes of a game developer who works hard to please his boss, Mr. Kayaba.
1. Chapter 1: Happy Birthday!

**Sword Art Online: The Red Baron**

**Book 1: The Untold Hero**

_Chapter 1: Happy Birthday!_

May 6, 2022

_The time has come at last! SAO is finally on its way to perfection!_ Those are the thoughts of a young Joshua Altman who is earnestly following in his late father's footsteps. Initially, his youth and inexperience in the workforce has made countless members of Kayaba's development crew skeptical about his ability to keep up with the creation of such an enormous project. However, Josh's brilliance in advanced computer programming as well as his sense in organization allowed him to gain that respect as a game developer from the crew members that had cared for him deeply thanks to his young age and his father's reputation. As much as he was grateful for the support that his co-workers had given him, Josh was more concerned about pleasing his boss and family friend, Mr. Kayaba Akihiko.

Josh had never forgotten his 14th birthday. It was perhaps his most important birthday for it was the turning point of his life. People would question why a 14 year-old kid would work at a top notch gaming company instead of going to school. However extreme circumstances in his unfortunate childhood, caused an exception to be made. Overall, the day was pretty normal and nothing special happened. There were a lot of "Happy Birthdays" from his co-workers and Kayaba ordered a cake in time for lunch, but other than that, it was just an ordinary day. Still, Josh had an amazing time at work feeling proud of the big accomplishments he and the development crew have made up to this point. It was the end of a hard day's work and Josh had finished up an important section of programming for the Cardinal System. Most of his co-workers were already heading out the door when Kayaba motioned Josh to report in his office. Josh then acknowledged him and said his good-byes as he made his way over to the office to see what Kayaba needed.

"I'm sorry for the wait Sir," Josh said politely. "Is there something that you need?" His light brown eyes fixed on Kayaba as he stood in front of his desk.

"Ah good, you're here. Please take a seat while I go grab something important," Kayaba replied as he stepped out and into the closet outside of his office. He then came back a moment later carrying a well-wrapped box with a bow on top. "Happy birthday my good sir."

Kayaba handed the gift over to Josh who gave him a not-so-worthy look. "Oh Mr. Kayaba, you didn't have to-"

"You deserve it Josh," Kayaba interrupted him with a big smile on his face. "It's your birthday and besides, your hard work is really making this game better every day."

Josh gratefully accepted the gift and opened it carefully revealing a brand new Nerve Gear that looked as if it hadn't hit the stores yet. "No way! Is this one of the rumored 1st Edition Premium Nerve Gears?"

Kayaba chuckled out loud. "Not only is this a 1st Edition Premium, it's also one of the first ones ever made aside from the prototypes!" He answered as he grabbed a tote bag. Josh's face beamed with happiness.

"That's incredible!" Josh praised out loud. "But what about your Nerve Gear, Sir? Don't you have one?"

Kayaba maintained his proud smile. "I made my own special Nerve Gear apart from the ones I will be selling," He explained. "I will also be sending 2 more Nerve Gears with the final product to both of your siblings as a gift from me as well."

Josh's eyes widened. "Mr Kayaba, are you sure about this? I mean, my Nerve Gear was expensive enough. Are you seriously planning to send me 2 more with the games included?"

"Of course, Josh," Kayaba replied as he turned around to face Josh again. "Like I said earlier, you have worked so hard in your father's place. Believe it or not, your father would've given your little sister and brother a full set as well." Kayaba paused as he opened the door to the development room. Josh and Kayaba walked out and made their way towards the main lobby. "Your siblings are looking forward to the game, am I right?"

"Yes of course," Josh answered back. "Elizabeth and Ken always enjoyed hearing the updates I had. They'll be ecstatic when they see the Nerve Gears in the mail."

"I'm pleased to hear that," Kayaba concluded. He then sat on one of the seats in the waiting room of the lobby and motioned Josh to sit next to him. "I also have another present for you."

Josh gave him a confused look. "Another present Sir? What more could you give me?"

"I would like to personally invite you to the closed beta for SAO," Kayaba started again. "I will even pay you for all the hours you logged for the test."

Josh beamed at that invitation. "You really mean that? I really appreciate it." Suddenly, it hit him. "Wait a moment, what will you be doing while I'm logging hours? How will I know that you're hiding something from me?"

Kayaba retained his smile but also hid a tiny smirk on his face. "It's true that the closed beta test is practically the final product, but I would like to add a small special feature just for the game and I also want it to be a surprise for you."

Josh was able to notice his smirk and was quite suspicious. "And you're sure that I will like that surprise?" He probed.

"Of course you will," Kayaba reassured. "Besides, not only will you get paid for this, if you promise to get off my case until the day when the server opens for the finished product, I will also give your account a permanent 3x experience boost which includes both level and skills."

Josh dropped his suspicious face. "You really mean it don't you?" He asked genuinely. Throughout his time in Argus, Josh knew that Kayaba is a man of his word. Whenever he promises something, he never goes back on what he says no matter what it is.

Kayaba started to laugh. "Now now, have I ever broken a promise to you?" Josh already knew the answer. He smiled and laughed with him as they both left the building.

The walk back home was very comforting. He was finally able to play the game that his father started. With his Nerve Gear in hand and the night breeze gently blowing, There waited his siblings, Elizabeth and Ken, who was eager to see what their older brother has in his hand. Once they saw that it was a top-of-the-line Nerve Gear, there was no stopping them from pouncing on top of Josh wanting to use it first. After being able to dodge their endless pleas, Josh went into his room to put his nerve gear away so he could start preparing dinner for the night. After stashing his Nerve Gear in a special place where his siblings can't find it, Josh made his way over to the living room to round up his siblings over to the kitchen for dinner preparations. After dinner, Josh let them on their own for a while as he made his way back to his room to test out his new Nerve Gear. The bed felt like a patch of fluffy white clouds. It almost made him forget to say the magic words.

"Link Start!" Josh exclaimed as his mind was sent into a flash of colors. The 5 senses calibration labels appeared next and following that, he made his own username and password, Altinator. Josh then looked around and saw that he was in an empty room. The next thing he knew, a menu system appeared with a mirror in front of him showing his face. He had fair skin, sparkling brown eyes, and dark brown hair. He then saw his body: tall, athletic, and muscular. Not interested in changing his looks, Josh left it alone and moved on to the controls.

_Let's see now, system assist… check, main menu… check, good._ He then moved around for a while. Looking at the menu, he noticed that there was an additional setup, but before he could activate it, he noticed the time and how late it really was. _Wow, it's almost 11. Guess it's time to go back home._ Josh logged out of the empty VR world and stared out the window, hoping that the final product and the last minute surprise Kayaba decided to add will make the game so much better than the closed beta.

As the months passed, the SAO project was entering its final stage. The closed beta server was finally complete and ready to open the following day starting at 10AM. Josh was more than ready to see the world that his father envisioned. Thankfully, starting from the day of the beta launch until the closing day, Josh was excused from reporting to the HQ building for work. He placed his Nerve Gear on and lay comfortably on the bed. His two siblings were watching him as Josh made his first dive into his hard work.

"Link Start!" Josh shouted as he saw flashes of colors like he did before.


	2. Chapter 2: One Month of Fun

_Chapter 2: One Month of Fun_

August 1, 2022

Aincrad Beta Floor 1: The Town of Beginnings

_So this is the game that my father envisioned? Incredible!_ Everything looked and felt so real. Altinator took a good look at his surroundings and his appearance. He was standing in front of a fountain of the town's central plaza. He was wearing a red shirt and breastplate along with simple brown pants. On his waist was a basic one-handed sword. _This toy won't do me any good. Thankfully, I created countless varieties of powerful weapons for later in the game. _Altinator unsheathed his sword and started swinging. It was pretty light. _Kinda too light, but oh well._ He made his way outside into the grassy field when he saw a young man getting used to the controls of his new body. As Altinator watched, the young man managed to slay a boar turning it into millions of tiny pieces.

"Getting the hang of it already, eh?" Altinator called out to the man who turned to face him.

"Took a while, but yeah," the young man answered as he made his way over to Altinator. "Say, would you like to join me in level grinding?"

Altinator smiled as he drew his sword. "Don't mind if I do." As he was cutting down boar after boar, the young man started up the conversation again. "By the way, what's your name?"

"It's Altinator, How about yours?" He asked.

"Name's Kirito! Pleasure to meet you Altinator!" the man responded.

The two of them were cutting down boar after boar, and the beasts kept respawning. It was like a contest to see who can kill the most before they get tired. After a good hour, both Kirito and Altinator were out of breath.

"So how many did you kill?" Kirito gasped as he laid face up on the ground.

Altinator collapsed right next to him laughing. "I completely lost count. What about you?"

"Same," Kirito answered back.

It didn't take long until the two fell asleep after a good workout. The two had barely met and they seemed like long time pals. It wasn't long as more and more beta testers were figuring out the controls and Altinator knew that he needed to move on. After napping for nearly an hour, Altinator woke up seeing more testers fighting boars to level up.

"Hey Kirito," Altinator said as he woke him up. "Shall we head over to the next village? There's a quest that earns us a sturdy sword much better than the cheap starter ones that we have."

Kirito smiled at Altinator as he replied. "Yeah sure thing! I always love information that I can use for the actual game!"

With that said, the two of them made their way to a small village called Horunka. Compared to the busy Town of Beginnings, Horunka was a quiet and peaceful little village with a decent weapon and tool shop for any beginners wanting a head start. Out of all the buildings, a two-story building stood out. Figuring that the building was where the location of the quest that Altinator talked about, Kirito and Altinator entered inside to find a person living there greeting the two. Kirito noticed that the way the person talked was rehearsed and scripted. Therefore, he concluded that it was an NPC for that quest. The NPC offered them some water and led the way to the living room since there was no food at the moment. Kirito, however, noticed that there was also a simmering pot in the fireplace and implied that something didn't make sense.

_Strange. The NPC says that they have no food at the moment but there's something simmering in the pot. _Kirito thought to himself. _I wonder what's going on? _Before Kirito could answer his own question, as if on cue, someone started coughing in the next room the moment Kirito and Altinator received the cup of water.

"Is there something wrong?" Kirito asked. "I think I heard some coughing from the other room."

The NPC turned to the two and frowned. "It's my little daughter, Agatha. She's been sick for quite a while now and after we had spoken to the doctors, the only way to cure her is medicine created with nectar from the flower of a Little Nepenthes. Will you please help me?"

Kirito looked at Altinator for a moment who in turn smiled and nodded. "Yes of course," He answered with a small smile. "Is there a place where we can find some of these creatures?"

The NPC gave a small smile and replied. "Over in the west of this village, there is a forest filled with Little Nepenthes. If you can collect the nectar from the creature with a flower on its head, please bring it to me. Please hurry. Time is short for my little daughter and her illness can be fatal."

Altinator and Kirito nodded and headed out the door towards the forest. Along the way, Altinator filled Kirito in on more information about the quest.

"The Flowered Little Nepenthes is a very rare find," Altinator stated. "We should start killing random ones to see if one of them spawns."

Kirito nodded. "How can you tell that it's rare?"

"Quests are never easy," Altinator answered. "If the quest demands a specific type of item, it will definitely take a good amount of effort to find it. With that said, the Flowered Little Nepenthes must be a rare creature."

"That makes sense," Kirito commented as they went deeper into the forest. Eventually, the two ran into a few Little Nepenthes, but as expected, there were no flowered ones in sight. Kirito and Altinator drew their swords and after fist bumping their acknowledgement for competition, they started to cut down creature after creature to the point that they were no longer keeping track of how many they killed. After several hours of killing Little Nepenthes, the two still haven't found the rare flowered one. Feeling super tired from nonstop killing, Kirito and Altinator went a little outside of the forest to take a nap.

Although the two managed to fall asleep, it didn't take long for Altinator to wake up to find a Flowered Little Nepenthes about to take a swipe at them. Unable to wake Kirito up, Altinator dodged the attack only to see it strike Kirito hard several times making him lose over half his health and over to the yellow nearing the red. Altinator then drew his sword and slashed that Nepenthes with a clean swipe shattering it into thousands of pieces. A notice popped up in front of Altinator showing the rare item needed for the quest. Kirito was up a bit surprised that he was attacked by that creature.

Shaking his head, Altinator looked over at Kirito with an "oh boy" look. "I swear Kirito, you need to be ready and on guard at anytime even when you're sleeping."

Kirito laughed as Altinator made his comment. "Well, it's just a game you know. Who cares if we end up dying. We can just revive and try again."

"Yeah true," Altinator admitted. "But doesn't that take away the fun of the game? We can move around and be in environments where we have to depend on ourselves for survival."

Kirito nodded as Altinator continued. "I have a feeling that if there were more severe consequences when we do die in this game, we would do things differently don't you think?"

"Yeah that's definitely true," Kirito agreed. "After all, we are participating in this beta test to see how this game goes. There's plenty of noobs that can tell us how dying looks and feels like. Maybe we can experience how it feels to advance from one floor to the next."

"That's the spirit Kirito!" Altinator stated with a thumbs up. "I got the rare item with me. Shall we return to the house?"

"Right behind you partner!" Kirito answered back with a fist bump.

The two of them made their way back over to the two-story building where the quest had started. The NPC welcomed the two back with the rare nectar and hurried over to her room to create that medicine. After a few minutes, she came downstairs and into the room where the daughter was laying and gave her the medicine. The initial effects were promising.

"The medicine seems to be working," the NPC said. "I believe it will be a matter of time when my daughter will get better. I humbly thank you for your time. Please accept this family heirloom as a reward."

A notice popped up in front of Altinator revealing the reward known as the Anneal Blade. It was a one-handed sword that was a big improvement from the cheap starter sword they received when they started the game.

"I will take great care of it," Altinator said as he thanked the NPC for the humble reward.

The two left the village and made their way over to a town called Tolbana where they both agreed to go their separate ways for quests only to meet up each time to conquer the floor bosses together. Before leaving the village, however, Altinator gave Kirito the sword seeing that he preferred a one-handed sword as his main. The goal was to cover as much ground as possible with all the possible quests to level up and strengthen players. As a game developer, Altinator was able to pinpoint every quest that allowed him to gain all the experience and crucial items he wanted while leaving Kirito to take care of all the quests that gave him the upper edge. This was accomplished floor by floor until the beta test closed a month later. As the beta test came to a close, Kirito and Altinator bid a temporary farewell promising that they will meet up again during the formal release of the game server. Now that the closed beta was over and money was flowing into his bank account, Josh made sure that between now and the release of the full game, he would make final preparations of game strategy with his siblings and also focus on developing his side project as much as he can.


	3. Chapter 3: The Calm Before the Storm

_Chapter 3: The Calm Before the Storm_

The wait for Sword Art Online to be released was definitely a difficult wait indeed. According to several surveys done by the 1,000 beta testers that participated, the vast majority are anxious to dive back into the virtual world and Josh was no exception. All he ever talked about with Emily and Ken were SAO and the fun that he had. The more Josh talked, the more his siblings were drawn and inspired about the game. However, one small thing was tickling the back of his mind.

_I wonder why Mr. Kayaba wanted me to participate in the beta test so badly? _Josh wondered. _It's very suspicious when he would hide something from me especially when he bribes me with 3x experience boosts._

Josh stared off into space as he pondered those thoughts throughout the waiting period. No matter how hard he tried to put the pieces together, he wasn't able to figure out why. That's when he realized that he still had his own work to keep up with now that Kayaba had basically finished developing SAO. It was time for the land of the fairies to take shape and available for the public as soon as possible. After all, Josh did put in all the hard work into the creation of his game on the side. Now that the beta test is finished, Josh can now focus on the computer programming, art design, concepts, as well as the full system mechanics of his version of what would be a run for Kayaba's money full time.

One day at work, Josh and the other members of the game development crew were summoned into the conference room for an important meeting. There were lots of food and drink laid out all across the conference table so something special must be going on. It was then when Kayaba announced that the SAO games will sell online starting on the 31st of October and in the stores the day before the server opens on November 5th. The conference table burst into rounds of applause, but as soon as the meeting was over, Kayaba slipped back into his office with his door locked. Most of the development crew saw that moment as their boss letting them enjoy themselves while for their long years of hard work, but Josh was able to see through that after spending more time with Kayaba personally. _Something is definitely up with Mr. Kayaba and I'm going to get to the bottom of this real soon._

As the days passed following the announcement, Josh worked tirelessly to solve that dilemma but to no avail. Now that Kayaba confines himself inside his office for several days at this point, the other members of the development crew started to grow worried and suspicious of him. Still trusting the man that he had known throughout his life, Josh decided to let the matter go and focus more on his own project. Seeing Josh so focused with his own work even after the development of SAO was nearly complete made Kayaba's already anxious and discouraged crew members motivated enough to keep working and to support him in every way and to go as far as they with the project. However despite all the progress, Kayaba's behavior still remained the same. It was that one night that made all the difference.

It was on October 30th. Josh came in and continued on his game with Kayaba's crew as usual with Kayaba still cooped up inside his office. Josh's game came a long way from the time that he started on the side all these years ago. Not only were the foundations finalized, the art design, concepts, gameplay, and the Final Grand Quest were all getting developed on schedule. The crew members also thought of several names for the game, but left the ultimate decision up to Josh, the creator and later gamemaster. Josh already knew what he was going to name the game: ALfheim Online. It was a name created by himself and his sister Elizabeth based off of Norse mythology. The work day had finally come to a close and everyone had already left. Josh saved everything onto a high tech USB specifically for the game and got ready to leave when Kayaba came out of his office to stop him.

"Mr. Kayaba," Josh said surprised. "What a surprise. Is everything ok?"

"You've done well to keep our little secret," Kayaba stated. "I'm sorry I've been ignoring you and the crew these past few weeks. I was too busy fixing the few annoying kinks in the system for SAO."

"You could've told us sir," Josh countered. "You would've been able to fix those bugs a lot faster with us on your side."

Kayaba chuckled. "I'm sure you're right Josh, but this was something personal and I wanted to take care of it myself. You understand right? After all, you're also creating a game too."

"I suppose so…" Josh answered as his voice trailed off. "I guess tomorrow's the day. SAO sales will surely skyrocket."

"I am keeping the the server capped at 10,000 players," Kayaba stated. "I don't want to overcrowd the game and ruin the gameplay for everyone with constant lagging."

Josh nodded and smiled. "Fair enough. Also, I haven't received the Nerve Gears for my siblings yet."

"Ah yes," Kayaba started. "Those should be in the mail by today actually. I would imagine your siblings have already opened them. Your games will also arrive in the mail tomorrow as well."

"I really appreciate you for doing this for us sir," Josh said with a big smile. He extended his hand out for Kayaba in which he took hold and shook.

"Don't forget that you won't be able to access the game until November 6th at 1PM," Kayaba warned. "Until then, be sure to have your siblings get used to the virtual world and create their avatars while they're at it."

"Understood sir," Josh acknowledged. "Goodnight."

Everything that Kayaba said was true. By the time Josh came back home, he was crowded by both of his siblings who were ecstatic by their brand new nerve gears. They had already logged in to create their default avatars and were ready to go. Now the real countdown begins. The following day, as promised, the SAO games were delivered to their house. The week before the server opens is crunch time. Josh pushed a lot more than usual and the development crew was in full support. By November 5th, just one day before the launch of the SAO server, a significant portion of the game was completed. Josh had just finished the entire walkthrough with quests and the Grand Quest when the work day ended. Before everyone started to leave, Josh turned to his right hand man throughout his short full-time period of development.

"I want to thank you for sticking with me throughout this project," Josh said as he shook his hand.

"I only wish I could do more for you young Josh," his partner said. "Your determination in creating this game has given me and the rest of the crew the motivation to finish this game and also the respect that you deserve as a game developer."

"We finished SAO with Kayaba together," Josh stated. "I would love to finish this game together as well."

His partner placed his hand on Josh's shoulder. "We will my friend."

"We need to lock the game entirely for the time being," Josh said. "I don't want anyone messing with all the work that we've done up to this point without my permission."

"Understood," he said. Josh and his right hand man carefully went through every file and locked all of it completely. Josh then set all the locked data with a password that only the two knew.

After locking everything down, Josh's partner had one more question. "Is there anything else you would like me to do?"

"I'm sure you know that my siblings and I are going to dive into the game tomorrow right?" Josh asked to which his partner nodded. He then continued. "I still find what Mr. Kayaba doing is suspicious, so should anything happen to us while we're inside the game, I want you and the crew to take us to the hospital and have us plugged up and supported do you understand?"

Josh's partner nodded. "Will do Josh. Nobody will harm you as long as we live."

After the two said their goodbyes, Josh headed back home as usual. Only this time, his siblings didn't come to crowd him. Finding that strange, Josh started to scout the house for them and saw that his siblings made dinner for him to celebrate the start of SAO. Josh, with tears in his eyes, enjoyed the feast that his siblings had made him. He then spent the rest of the night and fell asleep with them. The next morning, Josh was off from work. It was the day of the launch and there wasn't a moment to lose. Josh and his siblings made sure everything was set in order in case something went wrong with the game. It was now noon, an hour until the server opens. Josh and his siblings met up in Josh's room for the big moment.

"Alright, you ready for this Liz?" Josh asked as he made himself comfortable on the bed.

Elizabeth nodded and smiled. "I'm always ready big brother. I can't wait to see the world you created."

Josh smiled and turned over to Ken. "How about you Ken?"

Ken smiled and winked at him with a big thumbs up. It was a minute till 1PM and by then, the three of them were anxious to begin.

"Ready? One, two, three…" Josh counted down.

The clock ticked as the three called out in unison. "Link Start!" Multiple colors of light flashed in front of their eyes.


	4. Chapter 4: The World of Swords

_Chapter 4: The World of Swords_

November 6th, 2022

Aincrad Floor 1: The Town of Beginnings

The first moments of SAO were just as Altinator had remembered. His avatar was the same. The only difference was that his stats were reset. He looked around and smiled. _Yes! I'm finally back! _Altinator went over to the middle of the plaza searching for his siblings. After a couple of minutes, Altinator found the two avatars he recognized and called them over to him. The two turned around and saw him waving over to them. They followed suit and met up with him as he started his way outside for an intense level grinding session.

"Ready for some fun guys?" Altinator called out.

"Always ready big brother!" Ivy (Elizabeth) answered with Ken nodding.

The three of them headed outside the city to see a good number of boars. Altinator knew where the best level grinding areas were so he led his siblings over to that position where he ran into a familiar face.

"Hey Kirito! Long time no see!" Altinator shouted.

Kirito was also outside tutoring a newbie on the basics of swordplay. The newbie was a pink-haired young man who was having a bit of trouble getting used to sword skills. He just finished killing off a slime boar when Altinator called out to them. Kirito and his new friend looked over and waved.

"I know right! How have you been?" Kirito called out towards the three.

Altinator came towards him. "Never better. I'd like you to meet my real-life siblings, Ivy and Ken."

Kirito shook both their hands. "A pleasure to meet you both. I'm Kirito."

"The name's Klein," the newbie said. "Hey there!"

"The name's Altinator," Altinator introduced himself. "A pleasure to meet you Klein."

"The pleasure is all mine," Klein stated. "So, you also out here hunting monsters?"

"You bet we are," Ken answered. "There's no way we're gonna get left behind isn't that right sis?"

"That's right," Ivy followed up.

Klein turned and faced Ivy. His face started to turn bright red. "Oh wow, she's so cute. You said she's your sister right Altinator? You don't care if…"

"Don't even think about it bro," Altinator interrupted. "Besides, that's not what she actually looks like."

"Yeah yeah, I get it," Klein said in a whatever tone.

"I must say, I'm flattered," Ivy commented with a small laugh. "Hope we can be good friends Klein? Kirito?"

"O-Oh, yeah no prob!" Klein stuttered while Kirito smiled.

The afternoon wore on with the five of them hacking away boar after boar. Eventually the five became tired and the sun was about to set. The five of them stared off into the sunset amazed at the quality of virtual reality. It was a beautiful moment never to be forgotten.

"I still can't believe it man," Klein started. "No matter how many times I look at it, I can't believe we're actually inside a game."

Ken laughed at that comment. "I know right? Isn't it amazing? Just look at the quality. It's like as if everything is real."

"I swear the developers who created this game did an amazing job," Klein continued. "I'm so happy to be alive right now."

_Well, we sure put in years of hard work into this game that's for sure. _Altinator thought. _Even I'm so moved by looking at the results._

"Wow, so dramatic," Kirito commented while the other three laughed softly.

"Well it is my first time experiencing a full dive virtual reality after all," Klein countered.

"So you're saying that this is your first time using the Nerve Gear?" Ivy asked.

Klein smiled as he answered back. "Yeah, in fact I had to frantically rush to get all the hardware to play this game."

"Talk about determination," Altinator commented.

"Well, I would say we're lucky enough to play as part of the 10,000 that are here right now," Ken pointed out. "I would also say you two are 10 times luckier since you were invited to participate in the closed beta of 1000 players."

"Guess you're right," Altinator admitted as he looked over at Kirito who made his agreed face.

The five of them laughed at that comment. It wasn't long until Klein asked another question. "So hope you don't mind me asking. How far did you two go during the beta test?"

Kirito and Altinator went into their thinking mode for a while. Then Kirito answered. "Well in the span of 2 months, we made it over to the 8th floor. This time, I'm sure we can hit more than that much faster maybe even a month."

"Wow, you sure are obsessed with this game that's for sure," Klein commented while Ivy and Ken nodded in agreement.

"Well I'm sure Kirito would agree with me when I say that it didn't matter what time of day, we were always thinking about SAO," Altinator stated. "After all, in this world, you can go just about anywhere with a single blade."

"Also, this game made me feel alive," Kirito chimed in. "More alive than the real world. Don't you agree Altinator?"

"You got that right," Altinator answered. After waiting a moment. Altinator stood up. "So shall we continue grinding?"

"Hell yeah!" Klein shouted. "But… I'm starving right now. I'll have to drop for a bit to grab a bite to eat."

"Sounds like a plan," Ivy said. "Have anything in mind for dinner?"

"Well at 5:30, I got some fresh hot pizza coming at my door," Klein bragged.

"Lucky!" Ken butted in. "I'd like some pizza too. How about it big bro?"

Altinator looked over at the time. It was close to 5:30. "Ok then, looks like we're having pizza too,"

Ivy and Ken cheered as Altinator said that. Klein also stood up. "Well, I'll be back once I had my meal. Oh yeah, you guys wanna exchange friend requests with myself and my friends later too? I'm also supposed to be meeting with my friends from my other games."

"Of course we'll add you Klein," Altinator answered. "But we'll see about your friends."

"Fair enough," Klein said. "Also, I wanna say thank you for teaching me the basics. I promise I'll get better trust me. Well, I gotta go. Seeya later guys."

The four waved as Klein opened up his menu to log out. However, Klein's face fell as he noticed something odd.

"Hmmm, that's weird," Klein commented. "No log out button."

"Really?" Altinator asked as he and his siblings checked their own menu. Just as Klein said, there was no log out button.

"Yeah, I don't see one either," Ken stated while the other three looked at each other with stunned faces.

"I guess since it's opening day, bugs like this happen," Klein pointed out. "I'm sure people are going ballistic by now."

"Um Klein? Take a look at the time," Ivy said as she pointed at the clock: 5:25PM.

"MY TERIYAKI PIZZA AND GINGER ALE!" Klein panicked.

"Just call the gamemaster already," Kirito said with an annoyed tone.

"Don't you think I did that already!?" Klein snapped. "There's no response. Is there any other way I can log out?"

_Mr. Kayaba's not answering? _Altinator thought. _Strange. I knew something was up._

"Sadly, no," Kirito answered. "The only way to log out is via menu."

The five tried to discuss other ways to log out of the game but to no avail. The technicalities of the Nerve Gear made them all impossible. Suddenly, bells started ringing out like a gong. The five started freaking out as if something's going to happen. Then they were all immediately teleported back over to the main plaza along with everyone else.

"What's going on?" Ivy said softly. "I don't like this."

"We were automatically teleported here," Altinator answered. "I don't understand why."

Just then, everyone looked up at the sky and saw it turn red. A big avatar spawned right in the middle of everyone in the plaza.

"Players of all ages, I welcome you to my world," the avatar started. "My name is Kayaba Akihiko and I am the person in control of this world."

The audience started mumbling to each other in amazement as Kayaba continued. "I'm sure most of you have noticed that the log out button has vanished from the main menu. This is not a malfunction."

The audience gasped. "I repeat. This is not a malfunction, but a special design specifically made for this game.

_So this was the "surprise" Kayaba put in for this game!? _Altinator thought in horror. _I can't believe it! How could he!? I trusted him!_

"Players cannot log out from this game nor can the Nerve Gear be turned off," Kayaba warned. "If the Nerve Gear is forcibly removed, microwaves produced by it will destroy your brain."

The audience started to become annoyed and treated it like a joke. Some started to head for the exit but were unable to get out. The five of them started to discuss what Kayaba had told them so far as Kayaba paused for the players to take it all in.

"Sadly, there were those who ignored the warning and tried to forcibly remove the Nerve Gear," Kayaba continued. "As a result, 213 players have perished."

_213 players dead!? _Altinator thought again. _This is crazy! _Kayaba displayed several various TV news articles as proof. However, fortunately, people finally heeded the warning after seeing the deaths of the unfortunate to be true.

"I will also issue another warning," Kayaba started again. "Please keep in mind that there is no way to revive yourself from this game. Once your HP reaches zero, your avatar will disappear and, at the same time, your brain will also be destroyed by the Nerve Gear."

_So that means that if I die here then I also die in real life? No! It can't be! Kayaba! _Altinator's thoughts were swirling like a hurricane. The others were also starting to freak out including Kirito and the rest.

"The only way to be released from this world is to beat the game by killing the final boss on the 100th floor," Kayaba explained. "Currently, you are on the very first floor. You will advance one floor at a time by defeating the floor boss on each floor. Once you reach the top floor and kill the final boss, the game will be cleared."

Now the audience were starting to panic even more. After all, even the beta test didn't even get passed 10 percent of the game let alone the whole thing. Now, life depends on winning this game. The panic turned into protests complaining at Kayaba's avatar. Kayaba also gave them one more little twist.

"Finally, I have one more little surprise for you," Kayaba stated. "It is located in your item storage. Please take a look."

Altinator and the rest of the audience scrolled through their menus and found a hand mirror. After staring into the mirror for a few seconds, bright flashes of light shined from the mirror of all the players. After the light effect faded, almost everyone's faces and body build changed. A whole new range of complaints rang throughout the audience.

"We're back to our original selves," Altinator said in a surprised tone. He looked over at Kirito and Klein and did not recognize their faces. "Hey, is that you Kirito? Klein?"

Kirito and Klein nodded and confirmed but still looked as confused as everyone else. _It looks like Mr. Kayaba's not kidding. Changing us back into what we look like in real life proves that fact._

Kayaba continued after giving the audience another few moments to take it all in. "Perhaps all of you are wondering why? Why would Kayaba Akihiko do something outrageous such as this? The purpose for this game has already been fulfilled. I made this game to control the fate of the world of my design."

_HOW DARE YOU TAKE ALL THE CREDIT FOR THIS GAME! I DEVELOPED THIS GAME TOO YOU KNOW! I SWEAR ONE DAY YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR THIS DEARLY! _Altinator's fist clenched tightly and his face twisted. He had never been so angry since the day his parents were killed.

"Well that marks the end of the tutorial for Sword Art Online and the official launch of the game," Kayaba concluded. "I wish all of you the best of luck."

Kayaba's avatar melted away into nothing and the sky returned to normal. It didn't take long for the crowd to burst into protest. Others started crying for their lives. Kirito, after immediately seeing the force field lift and failing to recruit Klein, ran out to head over to the village of Horunka where he and Altinator first went as fast as he could.

Altinator then took his siblings away from the big crowd and rushed over to the same village as well. "We need to get out of here as fast as we can! Once the crowd comes back to their senses, it will be nothing but players trying to level up around this area!"

"Right behind you big bro!" Ken shouted from behind.

"Don't you dare leave me behind!" Ivy also chimed in.

The three of them saw several boars and wolves right in front of them. They pulled out their weapons and cut them down on the way to the next village.


	5. Chapter 5: The Rise of the Beaters

_Chapter 5: The Rise of the Beaters_

December 2nd, 2022

Aincrad Floor 1: Tolbana

It is nearly a month now and around 2,000 people had died. According to the Monument of Life, nearly 300 of them were former beta testers. Viewing the names with lines marked through devastated Altinator to the core. Most of them were beginners too and that's what made it worse. Although Altinator was a beta tester, he also wanted to help them as much as he could, but there was so much that he could do by himself and it was impossible to help them all even with his 3x experience boost that Kayaba promised him.

Fortunately, there was a strategy meeting held that day. Apparently, a party went through the first-floor labyrinth and found the boss room. As a result, the party gathered together to recruit strong-willed people to come and take down the boss. At 4PM, the strategy meeting would be held. A person with blue hair stood up to start off the meeting.

"Alright people let's get this meeting started," the blue-haired guy started. "First, I would like to say thank you for joining with us here. My name is Diavel and my occupation would probably be a knight!"

The audience laughed at that introduction. They then commented that there were no such things as a job system. Altinator and his siblings smiled as Diavel let them have their fun before continuing.

"Today, my party have found the boss room at the top of this floor's tower," Diavel stated.

_Hmph, it's about time._ Altinator thought as he listened. _I would've found it myself, but I was busy level-grinding along with Ivy and Ken. I'm not going down there without being prepared._ The other members of the audience were conversing with each other in surprised tones.

"Our duty is to beat the boss, advance to the 2nd floor, and prove to everyone here that this death game is beatable," Diavel pointed out. "Isn't that right you guys?"

Everyone in the audience cheered. Altinator and his siblings clapped along with them respectfully.

"Alright, now before we figure out how to defeat the boss, let's form parties of six," Diavel suggested. "A typical party won't stand a chance against a floor boss. We need to form multiple raid parties for starters."

Altinator knew what to do. He turned to his siblings and nodded to which they responded the same. The three added themselves as a party and gave each other high fives. Altinator then looked over and saw Kirito sitting on the top freaking out over not finding someone to party with. Just as Altinator was about to invite him to their party, Kirito saw a lone player sitting a way from him. He scurried over and convinced the player to team up with him. _Looks like he found someone after all._

"Looks like everyone's finished teaming up," Diavel noted. "Now then…"

"Now wait a sec!" a voice from the audience shouted as he made his way over to the stage. "The name's Kibaou and I have something to say before we fight the boss!"

_Something tells me that he's up to no good. _Altinator's eyes narrow as he carefully listens to what he has to say.

"In this audience, there are some of you out there who need to apologize to those 2,000 people who lost their lives to this game right now!" Kibaou shouted as he pointed his finger in the audience.

The audience murmured as Diavel decided to step in. "Kibaou, correct me if I'm wrong but you're referring to the former beta testers, right?"

"That's exactly who I'm talking about!" Kibaou answered harshly. "Those blasted testers, from the moment the game started, have abandoned all the beginner players by hogging all the key farming spots and easy quests making them significantly stronger than the rest of us! Not to mention they also ignored us as well!"

Sneering into the crowd, Kibaou continued. "I'm sure there's some of you beta testers out in the audience right now! We should make them beg for mercy and force them to cough up all their money and rare items that they kept to themselves! If they can't trust us with their lives, why should we!?"

The situation was getting tenser by the minute now. The entire audience was now suspiciously looking around for those beta testers. _Now what good will that do to solve the problem?_ Altinator scowled. _We can't waste any more time discussing about the past. What's done is done!_ Ivy and Ken looked over at Altinator with a worried look. However, before anyone can react, one of the audience members stepped forward.

"Mind if I say something?" an older voice called out. It was a middle aged black person with a double-handed ax on his back. "My name is Agil and correct me if I'm wrong, but you're saying that since the former beta testers were not there to help out the beginners, several of them died. That's why they should take responsibility and give up all that they own. Is that right?"

With an intimidated expression, Kibaou answered. "Yeah that's right."

Agil pulled out a small brown book. "I'm sure you've also received this guidebook too right? The item stores were giving them out for free."

"Yeah, what about it?" Kibaou snapped.

"Believe it or not, the ones that were giving these away were former beta testers," Agil stated.

Several people out in the audience gasped at that statement as Agil continued to make his point.

"Everyone had equal access to this information, but a lot of people died anyway," Agil pointed out. "That's why I came here so we could learn from their deaths, beat the boss, and send out a message to the rest of us that this game is beatable."

Kibaou then hesitated and returned to the audience trying to control himself. Agil returned as well letting Diavel continue with his game plan.

"Alright, shall we continue?" Diavel started again. "The info about the boss is right here in the latest edition of the guidebook. According to that, the boss's name is Illfang the Kobold Lord with the minions, Ruin Kobold Sentinels. The boss's weapons are an ax and a buckler. Once the last HP bar of the boss hits the red, the boss will change weapons into a talwar and the attack pattern will change."

There were quiet murmurings within the audience. _That's just about right. Now then, let's see how Diavel would organize the fight patterns._

"This concludes our strategy meeting," Diavel concluded. "But before we dismiss, there's one more thing. Money will be distributed equally, the party who takes down the boss will receive the exp, and whoever gets any items will be able to keep it. Any objections?"

The audience mumbled in unison as a no.

"Well then, meeting adjourned!" Diavel stated. "We will leave for the boss raid at 10 AM."

The audience filed out quietly as the meeting was called to an end. Kibaou apologized to Diavel for his rudeness to which Diavel forgave. A small group gathered around Diavel in hopes of comradery. They lingered for a good half an hour until they also dispersed. By then most others were gone as well. Altinator had his siblings go off saying that he will catch up with them later as he made his way over to Diavel.

"Excuse me," Altinator said. "Diavel is it?"

"Ah yes, you must be Altinator," Diavel answered. "I believe we met during the beta test. I was under a different name."

"I thought so," Altinator commented. "I thought I recognized that voice. So, how do you plan to organize this boss battle?"

Diavel smiled as he showed him his plan. "I already had us divided into parties. Some of us will attack the boss while the others fend off the sentinels."

"That's a good start," Altinator said. "I see you like to take the lead. In that case, I can name you some of the stronger players."

"If you're talking about Kirito, I know exactly where to put him," Diavel said with a small scowl.

"Listen, I'm not here to challenge you," Altinator pointed out. "We're in this together to beat the boss beta tester or not."

Diavel tried to argue back but held back a little. "Yeah I understand, but you can't say that you don't want the last attack bonus like the rest of us."

"I'm not saying that I don't," Altinator stated. "As beta testers we all do, but it's nothing to get worked up about. In this game, our lives are more important than a rare item. We need to put people where they're needed the most."

Diavel stayed silent for a moment before he continued on. "I can't promise you anything. When push comes to shove, I may still want to give the last attack as the boss changes weapons."

Altinator sighed. "I understand. If you do end up dead, who would you like to finish off the boss?"

"Please don't tell Kirito this, but I would like you and Kirito to lead the attack in case I die," Diavel pleaded. "As much as Kirito's more of a competition, I still respect him as a player and a leader. His experience can help us beat the boss."

"We won't let you down Diavel!" Altinator stated. "That we can promise."

Diavel nodded.

There was a small party over in the central fountain area over in Tolbana. They were all hyped up about taking down the boss. Altinator and his siblings were preparing for battle strategies. Ken was to be the leader of group A as part of the tank defense group due to his obsessions with big shields and heavy armor. Ivy was to be a support healer after gathering as many healing potions and deliver to those about to die thanks to her speed and agility. The next morning, the new assault team made their way over to the first floor labyrinth and the boss room. Diavel stood in the middle right before the battle for one last pep talk.

"I have only one thing to say to all of you," Diavel stated. "Let's beat this thing!"

The crowd cheered as the entered the boss room. The boss's eyes gleamed as it jumped out in the middle of the arena with its ax and buckler drawn.

"Commence attack!" Diavel shouted as the crowd charged in full force towards the boss and the minions.

Diavel started directing the groups with switches and counter-switches. The support groups fended off the minions. Eventually, the boss's last bar of HP dipped down into the red. The boss became enraged and tossed the weapon aside.

"Just as the guidebook says," Kibaou grinned.

Just then, Diavel advanced in front of them. "Stay back, I got this!"

He started his sword skill and waited for the boss to strike. However, the boss pulled out a different weapon. _What the… That's not a talwar! It's a nodachi! Diavel's in big trouble! _Before Altinator could warn him. Kirito beat him to it.

"It's no good!" Kirito called out. "Fall back and regroup!"

It was too late. The boss made his combo sword skill and landed a direct blow on Diavel. A deep red gash appeared on Diavel's chest as he was flung aside critically injured.

"Diavel NO!" Kibaou shouted but before anyone could do anything, the boss went into the middle of the group and roared at them freezing the attackers in its tracks.

"Diavel!" Kirito called out and ran over to him. Altinator followed. "What the hell were you thinking?"

Kirito passed him a healing potion but Diavel refused it. "You're a beta tester too, so you understand right?"

Kirito gasped. "So, you were after the last attack bonus. You're a beta tester like I am."

Diavel's body started to glow. "Take down the boss at all costs...for everyone here."

Altinator nodded as Diavel's body shattered into millions of pieces. Kirito stood there dazed for a moment before snapping out of it. Altinator then turned to Kirito.

"I'll go and hold off the boss for you," Altinator stated. "You use the same strategy as you did when you took down those Sentinels."

Kirito nodded. Altinator then stepped forward and rushed for the boss. His two-handed sword out and ready to counter the boss move for move. Kirito regrouped with his partner and charged for the boss.

"We'll hit the boss as we did the Sentinels!" Kirito stated.

"Roger that!" his partner acknowledged.

Altinator saw the two coming and called out. "Switch out!"

The others moved out of the way as Kirito and his partner moved in to take down the boss. The boss was about to slash Kirito's partner when he called out. "Asuna!" The cloak was cut, and a face appeared. It was a beautiful girl like no other ready for battle as she jabbed the boss down with her rapier.

Kirito and Asuna kept going with their strategy until Kirito misread the boss's movement and got slashed. Fortunately, Kirito was at a high level, so the damage was cut to halfway. The boss was about to deliver the finishing blow when Altinator stepped in and blocked the attack. The other members, with Agil and Ken leading the charge, pushed the boss back.

"We'll hold the boss off while you recover!" Agil shouted to Kirito.

However, their combined attacks were not enough to overtake the boss. As the boss threw a sword skill down the middle of the crowd, Altinator carefully deflected the hit and stunned the boss. He then took a chunk of HP out of it as Kirito recovered and charged for the boss again. The three of them closed in on the boss and took the rest of the boss's HP with Kirito getting the final attack. The boss shattered into millions of pieces and a huge "Congratulations" lit up in front of everyone. The rest of the assault team cheered as the boss is now gone and will never return.

Asuna and Agil as well as Altinator and his siblings came over to Kirito who has just received the last attack bonus rare item: The Coat of Midnight. Everyone else received experience points and money with Altinator getting 3x.

"Very well done," Asuna said.

"Excellent sword skills young man," Agil added. "Congratulations. This victory is all yours."

Kirito frowned. "No…"

The crowd cheered on congratulating Kirito as Altinator chimed in. "Listen to them. They're cheering for you. You opened the door of hope for all of us."

Kirito smiled but it wasn't long until somebody had to disrupt everything.

"What the hell man!" Kibaou shouted. Everyone suddenly went silent as he continued. "Why did you let Diavel die?"

"Let him die?" Kirito asked feeling offended.

"You heard me! You knew the boss's technique didn't you!" Kibaou accused. If you had told us about them then Diavel would still be alive!"

The crowd murmured softly in agreement. _This is ridiculous! Nobody could've predicted that the game was different from the beta test! It's not fair that Kirito's the one to blame! _Before Altinator could do anything, one of the members of the crowd cried out.

"He must be a former beta tester! He knew the boss's attack patterns and held out on us! I'm sure there's more of you out there! Show yourselves you selfish beta tester scumbags!"

The entire assault team eyed each other viciously to see if they can spot the other testers. Altinator made their way over to Kibaou and others.

"Kibaou calm down!" Altinator said sternly. "Nobody could've predicted that the boss's weapons and tactics were different."

Before Kibaou could react, Kirito started to laugh maniacally. "So I'm a former beta tester am I?" He taunted. "I would appreciate it if you wouldn't compare me with those noobs."

"What was that!?" Kibaou snapped feeling more nervous now.

"Out of the 1,000 beta testers that played SAO, most of them were newbies who didn't even know how to level up let alone taking down a boss." Kirito boasted. "Hell, you guys are way better than they were."

Everyone had stunned expressions especially Kibaou. Kirito continued.

"I was different from them. During the beta test, I went up the floors that hardly anyone else had gone. The reason why I knew the boss's technique so well was because I fought several monsters with similar skills and techniques on higher floors. I even know more than the info brokers here to the point where I'm not gonna have any problems."

"What the hell…" Kibaou sneered. "Well if that's true then you're worse than a beta tester. You're nothing but a blasted cheater that's what you are!"

The assault team murmured in agreement once again. One of them shouted out in anger.

"A beta tester and a cheater! That makes him a beater!"

"Beater eh?" Kirito taunted. "I like it. That's right, I'm a beater, so from now on, never categorize me as one of those beta testers."

He then placed his Coat of Midnight on distinguishing him as a beater as he walked towards the second floor.

_What is he thinking!?_ Altinator scowled. _Now everyone is gonna hate him and I'm worse than he is! I developed this game! If anyone should be discriminated against, it should be me! _Altinator knew that he and Kirito will have a talk later, but before he could, Asuna confronted him.

"Wait!" she called out. "During the battle, you called my name out."

"I'm sorry if I was rude or did I mispronounce it?" Kirito replied.

"How did you know my name?" Asuna asked suspiciously.

"There should be another name and an HP bar along with yours," Kirito explained. "Do you see it?"

Asuna looked over at her HP bar and saw exactly what Kirito said. "Kirito… Kirito? That's your name?"

Kirito nodded. Asuna then laughed. "Wow! I'm so dumb. It was there the whole time."

"You have a lot of potential to become strong," Kirito stated. "If someone you trust invites you to a guild, don't hesitate to join them. After all, you can only stay solo for so long until it's no longer safe."

"Then what about you?" Asuna asked.

Kirito ignored her. He disbanded the party he had with her and left for the 2nd floor.


	6. Chapter 6: Death and Rebirth

_Chapter 6: _Death and Rebirth

December 3rd, 2022

Aincrad Floor 2: Urbus

Altinator had caught up to Kirito who had just branded himself as a beater. He hid himself in a small house away from all those that wanted him to pay. Although his coat gave him a hiding skill bonus, Altinator's searching skill easily located him.

"Kirito, we need to talk," Altinator said softly. "Please come out."

Kirito came out slowly from the shadows of the room. "Oh it's you, Altinator. Is there something you want?"

"I'm worried about you Kirito," Altinator stated as he stared deep into his eyes. "Are you sure you're ok about what just happened? If anyone should be branded a beater, it's me over you."

Kirito gave Altinator a surprised look, but smiled as he answered back. "Altinator, I do appreciate your concern, but I'll be alright. Besides, somebody had to stop all this fighting. It might as well be me."

Altinator tried to protest. "But still, we both went to the top floors together during the beta test..."

"That's true, but it's better that one person should be the scapegoat for the feuding bunch," Kirito interrupted. "I want to level up as fast as I can so I can one day clear the 100th floor and break free from this death game. If branding me a beater can help me clear this game in peace, it's a price I'm willing to pay."

Altinator, upon realizing that fighting Kirito will no longer help him, nodded slowly and smiled. "I understand. I also feel the same way about those other beta testers. They don't deserve to be singled out as a group like that."

Kirito smiled back. "I'm glad you feel the same way too." He stood up to leave for more quests but Altinator stopped him just in time.

"Kirito listen," Altinator started. "I know how much you want to clear the game solo, but if there are guilds out there that make you feel at home, don't feel bad about joining them. Besides, you have me and my siblings too. If you feel like talking to someone, we're always here for you man."

"I really appreciate that Altinator," Kirito said as he turned away. "Don't worry, I'll be fine, but if I do want some company, I'll be sure to let you know."

Kirito then walked out continuing his lonely solo quest to beat the 100th floor. Meanwhile, Altinator and his siblings also continued on with the path to the 100th floor to hopefully bring his trusted mentor, Kayaba, to justice.

March 31st, 2023

Aincrad Floor 25 Labyrinth

Altinator and his newly formed guild, Knights of the Round Table, were the first to the scene after the Assault Team guild, the Aincrad Liberation Squad, led by Kibaou received false information concerning the boss. The guild foolishly brought in around 40 members to try to defeat the boss all by themselves. By the time Altinator and his guild made it to the boss room, nearly half the ALS were gone. Kibaou looked terrified as he tried his best to calm down and command what's left of his troops. Fortunately for them, Kirito and the newly emerged guild, the Knights of the Blood Oath, led by Commander Heathcliff rushed over to the boss room as reinforcements.

The boss was about to slash at a frightened Assault Team member when Altinator dove in front of the player with his sword in hand to parry the attack.

"Ken, defensive stance!" Altinator ordered. "Keep the boss's attacks away from ALS!"

"Roger that bro!" Ken responded as he deflected the boss's attacks with his gigantic shield.

"Are you alright?" Altinator asked softly as he held the person close. The person that was attacked was a girl.

"Thank God I'm still alive!" the girl answered. She held onto him and buried her face into his chest.

Altinator gave her a healing potion as he continued. "Here, drink this. You can still fight right?"

She nodded as she took the potion. As Altinator turned to fight the boss, the girl called out. "Sir, please tell me your name!"

"Ask me again once this beast is nothing but dust!" Altinator replied.

He then returned to the boss fight as the girl watched him closely. She stares at him with a deep red blush, but shook it off as she grabs her weapon to continue the fight. The boss fight took longer than expected. Several more players were killed by the creature and disappeared into thin air. Altinator did all he could to fend off the boss's horrendous attacks as the other members of the Assault Team whittled down its HP. Finally, the boss's last HP gauge went to red.

"All units, advance on the target!" Altinator shouted out as the rest of the Assault Team charged in to take out the boss. "Show no mercy!" Several swords, spears, and axes discharged all at once overwhelming the boss completely. Altinator delivered the final blow and the boss disintegrated into millions of pieces. The Congratulations banner hung above the boss room signifying the victory of the boss's demise. Sadly, nobody was celebrating. This was the most devastating boss fight with the most casualties so far.

"Well that does it!" Kibaou sneered. "As leader of the Aincrad Liberation Squad, I take full responsibility for having this many casualties and will pull away from the Assault Team! We're outta here!"

The other members all gasped. All except Altinator, Kirito, and Heathcliff. It was as if the three expected such a turn of events.

One of the members of the Dragon Knights Brigade then mocked Kibaou by asking: "So you're giving the DKB the title of top guild isn't that right?"

"Shut up!" Kibaou snapped. "We know when to quit and our time is up! Guys, pull out!"

The rest of ALS retreated from the 25th floor and made their way back to the Town of Beginnings on the 1st floor. Meanwhile, Heathcliff and the others rallied up the morale of the Assault Team and tried to boost their confidence of beating the game. The girl that Altinator saved came over to him once again.

"Excuse me, you're the one who saved my life right?" the girl asked timidly.

Altinator turned around. He smiled as he saw who approached him. It was that same girl he saved. "It looks like we meet again my friend. The name's Altinator. What's your name?"

The girl blushed as she answered. "Lily."

She went and reached for his hand but stopped short. Altinator beamed at her and gently held her hand to which Lily's blush deepened. Ivy and Ken found Altinator and gave him a big hug. Considering how many players they lost during that battle, the two were happy that Altinator was still alive. Altinator hugged them back hard. Lily smiled at his warm kindness.

"Altinator, Are you three very close?" Lily asked softly.

"We're siblings," Ken answered as he held out his hand for Lily. "My name's Ken. This is my older sister, Ivy, and of course you met our oldest brother, Altinator."

Lily shook Ken's hand gently and responded. "It's really nice to meet all of you. My name's Lily." She then gave Ivy a hug.

"Lily, would you like to join our guild?" Ivy asked. "You seem like you can handle a dagger very well." She then whispered into her ear. "Also, I can help you get closer to my big bro."

Ivy laughed sweetly as Lily blushed hard. Altinator gave the two a confused look and looked over at Ken who shrugged. Ivy then brought Lily with her to him.

"Big bro, do you mind if you let Lily into our guild?" Ivy asked with a big smile.

Altinator gave the two a big smile. "Of course she can join. In fact, I was gonna ask her myself."

Lily gasped at that comment and then smiled with tears welling in her eyes. "Oh thank you so much!" She ran over to him and hugged him tight.

As the four celebrated, Heathcliff approached the party. "Excuse me, may I speak to Altinator for a moment?"

Altinator turned around and saw him. Surprised, he nodded quickly. Heathcliff walked away over to a quiet corner and waited for Altinator.

"I'll catch up. Go ahead and make yourselves comfortable upstairs." Altinator ordered. "We have a lot to discuss within our guild."

The others nodded as Altinator left to go meet up with Heathcliff. He offered an invitation to his guild, the Knights of the Blood Oath to which Altinator politely refused. Disappointed but still respecting his decision, Heathcliff wished Altinator well and left a friend request before he left. Altinator then caught up with the rest of his guild and hosted a celebration for the clearing of the 25th floor boss and the addition of new members including Lily. The party went on for a couple of hours and Altinator was feeling tired. He retired to his room inside the Knights of the Round Table Headquarters. A while later, there was a knock on Altinator's door. It was Lily.

"Is everything alright Lily?" Altinator asked.

Lily nodded as she approached him. "I left the party early but I wasn't able to sleep. Do you mind if I stay with you for the night?"

Altinator shook his head quickly. "Oh not at all. Please make yourself comfortable."

Lily spent the rest of the night with Altinator who was already making plans for the next assault. Awed by his handsomeness and bravery, Lily had thousands of questions she wanted to ask him, but she kept them to herself. The next few days turned into weeks and more floors were cleared. At the same time, Lily's heart grew more towards Altinator. Lily became a prominent member of the Knights of the Round Table being Altinator's right hand person. However, one single incident led to the turning point of Altinator's life in Sword Art Online.

August 9th, 2023

Aincrad Floor 35: Mishe

Altinator had beaten the 35th floor boss with the rest of the Assault team. It was another ordinary boss fight and nothing more. Feeling tired, he decided to remain on the 35th floor in a town called Mishe to rest and stock up his inventory before moving forward to the next floor. It was a few hours later when it happened. Altinator had just finished with his inventory check when received a help message from Lily.

_Altinator, I need help! I'm being attacked by a group of Orange Players on Floor-_

The message was cut off. Fearing for the worst, Altinator turned on his searching skill and managed to track down Lily to a secluded forest over on the 36th floor. There was Lily with her HP nearing the red with 3 other players surrounding her with knives and cleavers. All three of them had orange cursors.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Altinator sneered as he stomped towards the orange group.

"Well well, if it isn't the knight in shining armor," the leader of the group mocked. "Altinator isn't it. I must say your reputation precedes you."

"Enough with the pleasantries!" Altinator snapped still glaring at the leader. "Release her or you'll have to deal with me! Got it?!"

"Of course, whatever you say Commander," the leader said softly. He then nodded at the other two. One of two made a quick slash to Lily's figure depleting her HP.

"Lily NO!" Altinator cried out but it was too late. Lily's figure shattered into a million pieces. Devastated by Lily's murder, Altinator drew his sword. "All right, all of you are going to pay for this cowardly crime dearly. Any last words?"

The leader laughed in his face. "Surely you know that killing us won't bring your precious girlfriend back to you." The leader slowly approached him, but Altinator had something else in mind.

"I can still avenge her death!" Altinator growled angling his sword at his throat.

The leader laughed again. "You kill me and the rest of the world will know you're part of the death game conspiracy."

Altinator froze. He glares directly into the leader's eyes with a vengeance. His hand was sweating as he gripped his sword as hard as he could. "You wouldn't…" He growled again.

Before Altinator could say another word, the leader butted in. "Oh wouldn't I?" the leader mocked. "The name's PoH and these are my associates, XaXa and Johnny Black. I have a proposal that even you would be satisfied."

Altinator stared at him for a little longer before sheathing his sword. "Start talking," Altinator sneered. "But make one false move and I'll personally drag your sorry keister to hell!"

PoH grinned as he started his proposal. "Ever since this game started, you wanted to make Kayaba pay for his treachery right? There is a way to get back at him. It's true that when someone dies in this game, they also die in real life. Here's the catch: whatever murder you cause in this game is not your fault at all. Kayaba personally made this twist a reality. That will make him personally responsible for all the deaths in the game. All we're doing is playing the game based on how it was meant to be played: we can be whoever we want and if we want to be the villain and kill people, we can do so."

Altinator's eyes narrowed. "Who do you think I am? A mindless murderer?" He scowled as he continued. "We need every competent player possible to break free from this game and the more people you kill, the less successful we'll be!"

PoH and the others kept their grins. "Well suit yourself. Just remember that the moment you go after me, you will be exposed as part of the crime. Don't you forget it."

PoH and the two turned around and walked away as Altinator called out. "Your other lackeys may not be so lucky PoH! I will execute any criminals that get in the way of clearing the game so you better keep your distance from me if you wanna stay alive!"

As the day ended, Altinator embraced his new way of life. His once happy and supportive disposition changed into the cold, unforgiving, and ruthless frontliner in the Assault Team. The color red that he chose to forever wear along with his new personality had earned him the title and reputation known as the Red Baron. The name struck fear into the hearts of many, but to others, inspired and motivated the completion of the death game and to escape back into the real world.


End file.
